Burn
by Dena Gray
Summary: Chise ignored his warnings, then had to ask him to heal her... his way.
1. chapter 1

Elias was many things. Monster, magus, medicine man, to name a few… but he wasn't what one would call, despite his age, experienced.

This was what fascinated him about humans. They could live such short lives and fill it with experiences that he couldn't even fathom.

Skills, he could obtain. His form of shadowed observational study worked quite well for many centuries. Some things, however, needed to be experienced first hand.

Like desire.

Oh, he'd coveted, before. He'd wanted (and gotten) what he wanted, many times. But sexual desire was something entirely different.

The causes and symptoms seemed to be fairly simple, so he wasn't sure why he was only experiencing them now, after hundreds of years, but… he was.

And it was because of Chise.

When he'd bought her, he'd not considered her any differently than any other human. She was to be observed and interacted with, so he could further his education on the species in his long-standing, continuous quest to become more human. He'd not thought, at the time, that it was possible for him to feel sexual desire for a human.

Parts of his body thought otherwise.

The first indicator had been his breathing. She smelled like green, fresh things and he wanted to roll in her natural perfume like a hound. Every time she drew near, he was compelled to breathe deeply. When she had started to show evidence of more than just cursory interest in him, his breathing stopped, then quickened.

The second indicator had been his temperature. He'd always been warm-- the cold simply did not affect him the way it did humans-- but recently, he'd noticed a general warming of his body in her presence. More deeply, he'd acknowledged when she'd been gone to make her wand off in the land of dragons, that she warmed some intrinsic part of his psyche that relayed his emotions. If his emotional output could be compared to ice, she was thawing him.

The third indicator had been more difficult to realize. His body started physically manifesting desire for Chise. Strange itching in his lower back, tightness in his chest, a fluttering in his stomach… it had all confused him until one day he noticed they were all accompanied by the other two indicators.

The most confusing physical manifestation had been the most obvious: his erections.

He'd been a functioning male for centuries, so his cock's inflation was nothing new, but he'd never had such a visceral reaction to something, or rather someone, before. Every so often, his body would cycle through hormones and that organ between his legs would be extra sensitive to clothing, or his hand when he urinated… but this was very, very different.

Before, he would easily distract himself and the dull ache would go away. It wasn't important enough for attention and was a bit of a nuisance.

Now, he had to hold his robes closed to try and hide it from sight. Now, what used to be an annoying dull ache, sometimes hurt so sharply, he couldn't move.

Cold showers, long walks, reading-- nothing abated it for sometimes hours at a time.

As of that very moment, he was experiencing the longest time he'd ever had an erection, and he was starting to become worried. Deflation draughts were potentially dangerous, due to the ingredients used, and might cause permanent deflation. That was nearly tempting, and he left his study-- where he'd gone to hide from Chise and her incredibly revealing green bathing suit -- heading to the stairs and eventually the workroom to do just that, when his apprentice collided with him at the top of said stairs. He reacted out in concern to keep her from falling, but as he did so, pulled her close.

"Ow! Elias, I'm so sorry! Um…"

Too close. She'd felt his erection. He was slightly astonished that she'd recognized it so easily, but then, perhaps he'd not been hiding them so well as he'd thought.

She was lovely in her embarrassment and it helped absolutely nothing that she'd blushed adorably. He cleared his throat and held her away from his body as he doubled over, not so much in pain --his pain receptors were rather more tolerant than that-- but to try to hide the leap his hardened member had made right before her beautiful emerald eyes flew down to look.

Her breath hitched and her eyes widened in surprise, "E-Elias?" She looked back up to his face in what seemed like surprised curiosity.

As he was forming an explanation, trying to decide between that and a distraction, he looked more closely at her reddened skin and realized the change in hue was not entirely due to embarrassment. He quickly decided to use that as a distraction tactic. "Chise, are you sunburned?" As he waited for her reply, he took in the beet-red tone of her shoulders and nose and the overall burn tinging the rest of her visible skin a dark rosy color. Her normal fresh green smell was slightly singed. His concern quickly overwhelmed his personal dilemma and the relief of one worry led straight into the onset of another. "You are! Did you not use the zinc ointment I gave you? Where is Ruth?"

"Um, well… It-it was so thick and uncomfortable. I don't know where Ruth is. I haven't seen him in a few hours."

"Are you not uncomfortable, now?" He decided to let the comment about not knowing where Ruth was slide by. The familiar was either sulking from not being able to control Chise, or hiding from Elias' reaction to her in such a state.

"I was pretty hot outside, but now that I'm inside, I'm getting a little cold." She ran her hands over her arms in a display of being chilled. "I was going to get a shirt out of my wardrobe." She nervously scooted around him to do so, and he let her go, but he decided to follow her. Could she not feel the serious burns on her skin?

As soon as he reached the door to her room, he saw her try to pull a t-shirt over her head. "Ah--OW!"

Elias sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I should, by all means, let you suffer. I specifically told you to use the zinc ointment to keep from getting burned. Your fair skin can't handle the humid summers, here."

His robin huffed with defeated shoulders and threw the shirt on her unused bed, where it lay crumpled in a heap with the collection of things that had come to stay on her bed now that she slept with him. Books, a CD player, several women's magazines and an array of hair ties were scattered across the counterpane haphazardly. The sight of her genuine intention to keep sleeping with him softened his upset at the harm she'd done to her skin and he silently walked over to her.

Gently taking her hand in his, he brought it to his mouth and positioned it so he could heal the burn with his tongue. She snapped her head around and stared at him with an uneasy expression.

Their eyes locked as his tongue slid slowly from her wrist, up the fine hairs on her forearm, to the roughened texture of her elbow. He repeated the action to cover her entire forearm, but somewhere along the way, a simple service of healing his puppy became something else. He slowed down fractionally and savored her skin. The somewhat singed smell was alleviated just there and her normal verdant scent filled his mouth, slightly intoxicating him.

Her breathing increased with his and he wondered if the heat rolling off her body was entirely due to the burn, or if it was like his own warmth and keyed to her nearness.

He stopped at the final swipe to her elbow and looked to her to see if he had permission to keep going, but she pulled her hand out of his grasp and dried it off with the shirt she'd recently discarded. Her lower arm was now a shade of beautiful golden tan, instead of barely ripened tomato.

They stared at her arm quietly for a moment before he regained his senses.

"Doesn't that feel better? You've known my tongue-- or, more precisely, my saliva --has healing properties."

"I know."

He reached for her hand again, but she shifted a step away. He was slightly hurt, but waited for her explanation. Learning to wait had been difficult, but a worthy pursuit in dealing with her. Chise rarely disappointed him.

"I'm just…" She turned to look into the vanity mirror above her dresser drawers. Turning this way and that, she took in the state of her skin with a frown. "I didn't realize I was so burned. It's my fault, I'll just deal with it. It's only fair." He was lost in admiring the rounding curves of her thighs and buttocks, wondering what those hills would taste like, when she turned back to him. "You told me to use protection, and I didn't, so it's only fair that I suffer for it."

He remained silent in contemplation. One part of him wanted to push the issue and just lick her skin healed, but the other part of him-- the one currently ruled by his raging hormones --warned him that if he started down that path, the results may not be… controlled. Already, his body was keening for another taste of her sunshine-flavored skin. Too soon, his erection would return. If she were to ready herself, come to him directly once the pain of her skin asserted itself… perhaps she would more easily forgive him his body's reactions.

He took a deep breath and thought through exactly what to say to her to gain the path he wanted from her. "There's no need for you to suffer, my puppy, but I will accede to your wishes. Come to me if you change your mind." There. He'd planted the seed.

To further drive his point home, he left her alone and headed once more to the workroom.

He knew from the state of her burns that she'd be miserable without some sort of intervention, and his tongue would be the fastest route to relief.

A shiver ran down his spine as he wondered if perhaps it might lead to another sort of relief.

He quickly shut down that train of thought. Chise was kind and showed him affection, but she never seemed to want… more. He'd caught her looking at him several times, when she thought he couldn't see her, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking and she always kept to herself.

He wished that would change. It would be so much easier to gauge what she was thinking if he could get her to talk more.

Shaking his head, he lined up a few helpful herbs to work on a salve if she decided not to take his offer. Regardless of her reasoning, he couldn't have his bride suffering.

Xoxoxo

Chise seemed to hide the rest of the night. After dinner, when she was shivering at the table in a loose oxford shirt and some sort of greasy concoction slathered over her skin, she'd disappeared somewhere in the house. Elias looked to Ruth for explanation, but the grim just sulked on the sofa by Silky as she worked on darning a sock. Baffled by this, he decided to turn in for the night and headed for the bedroom to change into his pyjamas.

As he opened the door, he saw her gingerly removing her oxford shirt. She was standing by the bed shivering, wincing at every movement as she peeled the woven cotton off her body, where it had stuck to the gathered moisture pulled to the surface by the burns.

"Here, let me help you." Quickly walking to her side, he waited for her acknowledgment before reaching for the collar of the unbuttoned shirt.

She turned to look at him out of the corner of her eye, unable to turn her head very far due to the tightened and damaged skin on her neck. After a silent moment, she lowered her hands and nodded.

He concentrated on being as gentle as possible as he pulled the lightweight material away from her body. In the hours since she'd come inside, her shoulders had turned a raw plum color, indicating severe damage. He almost made his offer again, but held his tongue, so to speak. She would ask when she was ready.

One sleeve was released, then the other, and the shirt was free, but slightly yellowed from either her burns or whatever she'd put on them earlier.

"What have you used?" No need to clarify, she'd know what he meant.

"I bathed in tea, then applied a heavy moisturizer."

"The one we made over winter?"

"Yes."

"Ah." While it wasn't a bad choice, it wouldn't be very effective. The moisturizer was magically inert, so would still take a long time to fix the issue. The tea was an interesting choice. On a lighter sunburn, it might have actually worked, but this was so far gone, she'd likely made the damage worse.

He wanted to heal her so badly, but he again held his tongue. He instead chose to admire her very revealing bathing suit. When he'd first seen her this morning, he'd been shocked, to say the least. He'd not seen her so nude since the day he'd bought her, and had gotten used to her modest style of dressing.

The moment she stepped outside that sunny summer morning and announced that she wanted to work on a tan, he'd been briefly immobilized.

His breath caught, he felt very, very warm, and his body nearly went haywire. He'd fled inside, using the excuse of obtaining the zinc ointment to try and compose himself.

Her skin looked like silken cream and the dark emerald of her two piece bathing suit complemented her striking coloring admirably. Her body had softened and grown out of her childishly thin frame into a woman's body.

A very enticing woman's body.

That he now very much wanted to lick from head to toe.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

They settled into bed quietly. He shifted away from her so as not to hurt her, but kept a close eye in case she needed help.

She shifted, hissed and grunted several times, unable to find comfort in her state. It was very difficult to refrain from just pinning her down and fixing the issue, but that idea came with another idea that woke his cock… so he withheld.

Another groan from her as she slowly, gingerly moved into another position indicated that her level of frustration was growing.

He looked in the dark for her beautiful face and was surprised to find her staring at him. He waited.

"Alright, fine."

"What is fine, Chise?" He wasn't going to let her squeak by without actually saying it.

"Would… would you heal my skin, Elias?" The look in her eye was somehow edged with shame, but he was in no mood to make her feel worse. She'd punished herself enough by waiting this long to ask.

She was on her side, facing him, so he reached for her left hand again. Sliding his hand under hers, he carefully lifted the slender arm away from her body, which was still clad in the green bathing suit. He tilted his head, looking over her for a good place to start. Her burns had darkened all over and she was shivering in bed. The night was warm and she'd not used a sheet, so she must be miserable.

"Where would you like me to start?" His eyes met hers and she looked ready to cry. A sharp feeling twisted in his gut and he barely refrained from pulling her close.

"I don't-- I don't know. I hurt everywhere."

He looked down at her in pity, "Where does it hurt the most?"

She whispered so low, he almost couldn't hear her, "My shoulders, I think."

Thinking through the best way to reach her without hurting her more, he suggested, "Can you sit up and face out? I should be able to heal you without hurting the rest of you if you do so."

She didn't even respond, just sniffled and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of his massive bed to wait for his attentions. Her hair had fallen out of her hair tie as she tossed and turned, so he reached for the small bit of elastic that lay on the sheets and went to pull her hair out of the way.

A hissing gasp preceded Chise ducking her head away. Her hand slowly came up and gently felt the top of her head. "Oh, no."

The top of her scalp was burnt as well. He sighed and knelt up behind her, easily reaching out his tongue to lick the crown of her head. She made a slight noise of discomfort, but when he was done, her scalp was a healthy shade again. He quickly tied her hair back up to get it off her neck, then immediately went to healing her nape and shoulders.

Moving quickly to try and control the sexual undertones, he was also careful not to go so fast as to cause more pain. He was in a race against his own body and every little sigh Chise released in gratitude was fanning the flame that grew with every swipe of his tongue. He'd finished with both arms, her shoulders and upper back, then sat back to contemplate what to do with the tie of her bathing suit top. Should he ignore it? Untie it? He slid one gloved finger under the string of material and she winced. He glanced up at her head to see if she was going to say something, but then looked down to see that she was burned under there as well.

There was a quiet, still moment where he waited for some sort of protest from her with his hands obviously pulling at the tie, but none came. He deftly pulled at the string and let the two pieces fall to her sides.

He waited again for a response that again didn't come. Her breathing seemed slightly increased, but he couldn't be sure as to the reason. He reached his muzzle down to start his lick at her lower back, pulling up to the line of healed skin. Muscles twitched beneath his tongue as he continued around the girdle of her back and as he finished that section of skin, he looked down in curiosity at the line of her bottoms. Was she burned there? Ashamed at the idea of his excitement at her expense, he thoughtlessly reached up and untied the strings at her neck to check for burns there.

Chise squeaked and grabbed her breasts to hold the material up. His tongue finished a quick path across her neck and he took hold of her shoulders to indicate she should lie down. She followed his direction but a shocked look on her face with some unknown emotion glittering in her lovely emerald eyes made him pause and sit back. Her entire body was tense, with her knees lifted and pressed together.

He watched her, and she watched him. After a few minutes, she relaxed her legs and laid down flat. His eyes roved across her body again, looking for the least dangerous place to begin.

"Could…" Chise started roughly and cleared her throat. "Could you do my face, next?"

He huffed in amusement. This was likely going to be awkward, but they might as well get it out of the way. Leaning over, he used his core strength to hold his body away from hers, flanking her now-healed shoulders with his large hands. Slowly opening his mouth, he reached out and gently flicked his tongue across her forehead, her eyebrows, down to her eyelids, softly down the bridge of her nose. With playful inspiration, he licked the tip of her nose. She quietly giggled.

He licked across both cheeks and her jawline, then came to her ears. She tensed again as the tip of his tongue traced out the shell of each ear and shivered as he came back to lick under her chin before delicately tracing out her lips.

His breathing intensified. This was dangerously close to kissing and the thought of slipping his tongue between her soft lips was tantalizing. Oh so carefully, he outlined her lips and then swept a wet trail across the soft petals of her mouth. He couldn't help but slow his path at the corner of her lips and savor the returning sweetness of her healed scent. As his tongue followed the seam of her mouth, her lips parted with a soft exhalation and he… he just stopped.

He wanted to fill her mouth with his tongue, but…

But…

Would he be able to stop?

With a convulsive swallow, he sat back, shaking with the effort of stopping himself from ravaging her innocent mouth. He looked to her for some indication of what to do next and was surprised at what he saw.

Her eyelids drooped, shadowing the gemstone glitter of her eyes and despite the recent healing of her cheeks, they blushed brightly. Her wet lips parted and something twisted inside his belly, low and hungry, at the sight of her tongue dipping out to lick her lips. To taste his saliva? To mimic his kiss? To invite more? He stared, unmoving, waiting for a stronger indication. During his not-kiss, his cock had indeed hardened almost painfully and he could do nothing to hide it in the cut of his trousers as he knelt beside her.

Slowly, bravely, she looked down to his lap and he watched her face avidly. Her enticing lips parted and her hands shifted on her chest where they were still holding her bathing suit top tightly. His eyes flared as her hands let go, lifting with her arms over her head. The green fabric clung to her rounded breasts, still maintaining her modesty, but with the silent invitation to remove it.

True, he'd seen her nudity before, but on that first day, he'd not…

He'd not cared so much for her and her opinion of him.

He took a deep breath, willing his inimitable control into presence. "Chise, where would you like me to heal you, next?"

The true meaning of his words lay heavy in the air between them. What did she really want from him? Up to this point, he'd not touched her legs, so when she didn't answer right away, he reached for the leg nearest him and pulled her foot up to his mouth. He looked to her for approval and she nodded.

A sweet, floral scent wafted up to him as he contemplated her foot. It twined through his thoughts as he wondered if she was ticklish. He dismissed the scent as resulting of her healing and quickly swiped his tongue across the bottom of her foot before wrapping a deft lick around her big toe. It wriggled slightly and she gasped, but did not pull away. He thoroughly healed around each of her toes and looked back up to her again before laving up the arch and across from the spine to the instep. Her mouth had dropped fully open and she was arching her back slightly. His greedy gaze took in one pert nipple peeking out from under one side of the swim top. The soft curve of the underside of her breast kept his focus as he healed her ankle and up the entirety of her calf to her knee.

The position he held her in was not lost on his libido and he clutched her ankle firmly as he leaned down to lick a path up the back of her knee to the fold of her buttocks. Her breath was heaving into the silent bedroom and that sweetly floral scent was most powerful as he reached the bottom of his path.

His great heart beat hard in excitement. She was-- Chise was experiencing desire, too. This was her scent of arousal. That stunning realization had him sit back and roughly speed through healing the outside of her thigh before situating his still-kneeling body between her legs and lifting the other foot to start over again.

This time, his hand ran gently down her calf as his tongue caressed her toes.

"Elias?"

Her soft voice was breathless and his answer was drugged with desire, "Yes, Chise?"

"T-take off your gloves, they scratch."

A deep, resonant growl filled the air and he propped her foot against his chest as he did as she asked. His now-bare hands lifted her leg again and as he finished healing her ankle, he straightened her leg up to the ceiling, letting his hands follow his tongue on its path all the way down the back of her leg. His cock was pulsing in his pants, filled with need and urged by the sweet sounds his delicate robin emitted to the night air. As he healed the outside of her other thigh, he noted that he'd avoided getting too close to her pelvis. Perhaps subconsciously he knew it was too much.

He looked up to her again and her hair had fallen out of its tie. Her hands were still by her head, but she teased her own mouth with the backs of the knuckles of her left hand. Her bright eyes opened in mere slits and he inhaled at the sight she presented.

The green top had fallen completely away and he could see the geometric shapes he'd not healed yet as the redness ended at the creamy perfection of her breasts. Coming to his knees, he braced his hands beside her waist and leaned up to lick her chest, sternum and belly. As he came down to the last bit of green material, her knees bent and she braced her feet at his knees. He stopped, wondering if she was going to wriggle away and put a devastating end to their… their… foreplay.

Technically, now, she was fully healed and the beautiful golden skin beneath him smelled divine. Not a bit of singed skin was left, and he took in deep lungfuls of her aroused floral bouquet. His thumbs spread out, towards her body and slowly played with the soft skin of her obliques. Her feet braced again at his knees, but she merely shifted her hips… down. She moved down the bed, wrapping her legs around his hips, then waited. His hands turned and held her torso, his adventurous thumbs sliding up to tease the underside of her breasts. She shivered and her mouth fell open.

"Surely, you're not done, yet?"

"Did I miss a burn, somewhere?"

Her low purr sent his mind reeling. When had she become this sexual creature that lay beneath him? Had he done this to her? He breathlessly asked, "Where?"

Her small hands hesitated and as she watched him, they slid down her chest to cup creamy handfuls of skin, presenting the reddened tips to him. "Here," she whispered.

A rush sped down his spine and he groaned at the tightness between his legs. Unashamedly, he reached down and adjusted himself but that proved to be a mistake. His cock had now been acknowledged in front of her. She bit her lip and lifted her hips a little.

Helplessly, he followed her request to 'heal' her 'burn', even though he was sure it was stoking the fire between them, not banking it. The tip of his tongue met the ruched bud she held in her hand and the sweet cry she called out just carried him farther down the path. His teeth gently came down on her breast, holding it more tightly for his tongue to ravish. Her still-clothed pelvis tipped up towards him over and over, faster and faster, as he mercilessly tasted his fill of her sweet skin.

Her cry of frustration when he let go was immediately followed by a wanton gasp for air as he dove for the other breast and gave it the same intense attention. He wasn't sure if she climbed up to him or if he dropped down to her, but he found himself curled down awkwardly as his hips pressed down into the mattress just below the crux of her thighs. The heat between her legs pressed just below his belt buckle and he wondered what she would think if he undressed, too.

He went to pull away to do just that, but she held him tightly down and pressed her entire body against his. His arms wrapped around her body and he had a moment of clarity before his mind sank into the depths of desire like the beast he was. "Chise."

"Mmm?" she purred against his shoulder.

"Where else do you burn?"

(to be continued!)


	2. two

"Where else do you burn?"

As he spoke that, he felt a great, keening need grow inside of his body. He'd been able to keep himself in check while his Chise was in pain, but now… Now she was beneath him on their soft bed, mostly nude and cuddled up in his arms.

He'd never felt so protective and powerful in his very long lifetime. This girl, this woman, this magical creature that captured his attention, had also grabbed hold of his heart.

As he lay atop her, their heads tucked up against each other, he felt as if he was floating in an abyss of emotion. Not all of it had a name, but it felt so good, he didn't care. The sheer comfort of holding his bride like this elated him beyond measure. Part of him itched for more, which is why he asked the question of her, 'Where else do you burn?', but he didn't mind her not answering right away. She seemed to have a similar contentment holding him, and that was very, very good.

Her breath warmed his skin and in the brief respite of the fire building between them, he settled his body against hers, enjoying the embrace more than he could possibly say.

Her breath rattled slightly and she seemed to struggle for air. Lifting his body, he asked in alarm, "Am I too heavy for you?"

She hesitated before answering in a small voice, "A little. I'm sorry."

"Please, Chise, don't be sorry," he said as he propped up a knee and twisted, holding her against himself as he maneuvered his body to sit up in their bed. When he was done, she was draped across his lap and his hands couldn't help but wander. The smooth satin of her back and legs was addictive to his touch-starved hands.

He passed a palm along the length of her leg and tucked her head back down against his chest. "How is this? Better?"

She smiled and murmured, "Mmhmm." Her hand slipped under his waistcoat, right above his heart and smoothed the fabric of his shirt, almost petting him. "It seems a bit strange, me being like this and you still fully clothed."

He tilted his head towards her in interest. Did she want him undressed? He was a bit surprised. She normally shied away from him at night until they were changed into their pyjamas, and only seemed to reach out to him in times of extreme emotion. He supposed this might classify as that, but still… Perhaps he could capitalize on the moment. "I can easily rectify that, if you wish."

Arching her neck back to look at him better, her gaze searched his. For what, he did not know, but she asked, "When you shift form, and your clothes go away, is that because your clothes are magic, too?"

Not sure where that line of questioning came from, he could only answer directly. "I manipulate the matter around me on a cellular level, so in a way, they are magicked away, but my clothes are not magic, themselves. Despite that, I usually undress in the normal manner, when I can."

Her eyes dropped to his collar and her fingers toyed with his lariat and the buttons there.

"I… I've never seen you undress, before."

He knew that very well, but wondered at her making a statement of it. "No."

A single fingertip played with his skin right above the tightly buttoned collar. He lifted his jaw to give her better access as he thought through what to say or do next.

His mind raced through possibilities and settled on a brave question. "Would you like to?"

She glanced up at him, looked down at his throat and continued playing with his lariat as she contemplated his offer. Her body curled against his, settling into the crook of his arm as she thought. Her soft lips opened and closed on several sentences before finally responding. "Can you do it without moving? I-- I kind of like it here."

He inhaled at the slight buzzing, drunken feeling her words produced in him, and wrapped his hands around her torso, feeling the smooth, soft curves with his bare hands. He exhaled slowly and held her more closely, answering in a low voice, "I like you, here, too."

He almost forgot to answer her question, when she tilted her head up to prompt, "So, can you?"

He thought through the amount of focus he would need and the possible drain it would cause on his magic without using a familiar, versus the gain he would receive by doing this for her. It was almost no contest. "Yes."

She ducked her head in a smile and ran her free hand along his waistcoat. "Is it all at once, or can you do one thing at a time?"

As long as she kept touching him, "Whatever you want, my robin."

She tilted her head up and stilled before responding, "The neighbors call me that. I didn't think you would."

Something in her tone made him think she didn't want him to. "Should I not?"

She seemed to think about it for a moment, then asked, "Is there something else you would use? Besides my name, I mean."

He stared at her in contemplation, wondering what her goal was in asking. "As a term of endearment?"

"Um… yes?" A lovely blush stained her cheeks and he brought his hand up to caress the side of her face.

He took a deep breath and thought about the answer to her question, but could only think of one word: "Wife."

Her small gasp surprised him. Their eyes met as he waited for her to respond. It was nice when they had open conversations like this, he could better understand her. When she did finally speak, her voice was small, barely above a whisper. "Do you still want to marry me?"

Was that ever in question? He didn't think so. "I've said as much, yes."

She smiled and put her head back down to his chest. Amazingly, she took to petting his abdomen as she sat silently. He rubbed one hand over her calf muscle in mimicry. He was lulling into a tide of sensation, exploring the back of her knee, when she asked, "How old are you, Elias?"

That was a subject he did not like to talk about, mainly because he did not know. He knew how long he'd been in this form, but how would he calculate age in a class of people that lived millennia? "Does it matter?"

She seemed to pick up on his upset, for she qualified her question. "No, I guess not, but I'm still curious."

His hands had stilled at her non-sequitur question, and he sat more rigidly as he fought with himself to answer her. After a few moments, and after she'd started petting him again, he relaxed enough to say, "I really don't know my exact age, but… old. Ancient, one might say."

She made him feel ancient, sometimes.

"But not as old as Lindel."

He looked down at her in surprise. Leave it to Chise to make him feel better with something so simple. "That's right."

Her glittering eyes dimmed slightly. "So you're likely going to live a very long time, whereas I--"

He was quick to interrupt her sentence with a slight growl. "We've discussed this, Chise. We'll find a way to cure you."

She sighed heavily and looked back up to him with wet eyes. They stared at each other, measuring their words between them. He knew something profound was happening, and was relieved when all her still-small voice asked was, "Do you promise?"

He took promises very seriously, as did most fae creatures and those dealing with them. His body posture straightened a little, he turned his head to look at her more directly, and in a solemn voice replied, "This I do swear: I will do everything in my power to keep you with me for as long as I can."

A single, glass-like tear rolled down her cheek and he reached out with the tip of his tongue to gently lick it away. Holding her face in his hands, he nuzzled her temple in a comforting gesture, one that had become commonplace between them. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, then kissed the skin below his jaw. A softly whispered 'thank you' sat in the air between them and he held her more tightly.

One of her hands came up and held the side of his face, then traveled down his neck to rest on his shoulder.

She whispered into his neck, "Can you take off your jacket?"

A thrill shot through him at her request, and he dissipated the embroidered black material in a waft of smoky mist. She was infinitesimally closer and he adored the feeling. The fine lawn of his shirt was thin enough to feel the heat her body emitted, even in her healed state.

She traced a finger around the gem of the lariat she'd given him for Christmas last year. "This?", she whispered again.

Obediently, he reached up with one hand and unmade the tie, placing the remade item on the nightstand beside the bed.

Her hand ventured down and pressed against the blue wool waistcoat with its black bone buttons, following the hard line of his abdomen. "This?" Her voice was getting a little more confident, but it was still small.

He granted her wish and nuzzled her hair, enjoying the slow barrier removal between them and wanting to encourage her. She took her time and he was glad for it.

His inexperience in intimacy still bothered him, but they seemed to do fine with their instincts. She hugged his torso and ran her hands along the soft shirt, pressing her palms to his muscles affectionately.

"I like you like this. You're more approachable in just your shirt."

He reveled in the feeling of her hands on his body before realizing the rest of what she'd said. "Do I intimidate you?"

She laughed lightly, "Yes!"

He looked down to gauge her expression. "That is not my intention."

She smiled shyly and replied, "I know, but…"

"But?", he encouraged.

He swallowed hard when her hand slipped across his chest, lightly abrading his nipples beneath the thin fabric.

"I only ever see you like this at home, when it's just us, and never quite like this."

His breathing heightened slightly. "That's because I can relax here, and let my guard down."

She was quiet for a moment, but her hands… oh, her hands…

"So it's a kind of armor?"

He was nearly panting now, wanting her to touch him somewhere else, somewhere new. "You could say that."

She smiled and looked over his body. His heart felt lighter for it, but his body felt too small in its own skin. Everything felt tight and full, especially between his legs.

"What about your shoes?"

Her surprising question seemed so out of place, it nearly shocked him out of his haze of desire. He rasped, "What about them?"

She was looking at his feet, but clutching his shirt in her hands. "Are your-- are your feet like mine, right now, or are they paws… or hooves?" She turned her head back to look at him with a very open expression he could only guess was her way of saying that any answer would be okay. He magicked away his shoes and socks in answer, amused at her thought process. Shoes would not work very well with hooves.

His purple, humanly feet were an unusual sight to him, as he usually wore socks in his chosen form, even to bed. Their darkness contrasted with the light duvet, and Chise sat up to get a closer look.

He greedily watched her breasts swing gently in her movements, entranced with the freedom she exhibited with him and the ease with which she accepted her nudity, now. He remembered all too well a time not too long ago when she was like a wild kitten in the bathroom, refusing to let him help her wash. Thinking back on that time, he could more understand her modesty, now, which made her current freedom of movement all the more enticing.

One of her small hands reached out to one of his feet, and she looked back to him, at first in question, then something turned in her gaze, like she was seeing something new… What would make her smile like that? She looked him over and tilted her head with a charming smile.

He had to know. "What is it?"

"It's just… you look very handsome, right now."

He was… shocked. Elated. Proud. Chise thought him handsome, without his smart dress coat, waistcoat, or lariat. He reached up and undid the top two buttons of his shirt, wanting to breathe more easily but stay as dressed as she wanted.

Her eyes darkened, then lowered, and before he could ask her about it, the hand that she had reached out to his foot came to rest on the arch, surprising a new rise of sensation in his body. Her fingers splayed and slid across the smooth skin, there, then swept across his toes. His foot flexed at her attention and he was surprised at how good her fingers felt. He was aching for her hands to travel, and she looked like she was going to do it. He was watching, waiting with bated breath for her next move.

She looked down at her hand, back up to him, and shifted on her knees. The delicious sound of her skin rubbing against itself met his keen hearing, but he kept watching her.

A decision flicked through her eyes and he curiously watched her skim her hand up the outside of his leg, over his hip, up his torso, then brace it against his chest as she swung one of her legs across his lap.

He was nearly hyperventilating.

Her legs were stretched wide to accommodate his body and that mouth-watering floral scent wafted up to him again. He instinctively brought his hands to her hips, but waited for her direction. He wanted so badly to pull her down to sit against his still burgeoning cock, but knew on some level that she needed to become that much more intimate with him at her own pace.

He was drugged with all the sight, smell and sound of her, and his hands couldn't touch her enough. They wandered her torso, slipping around her silken curves, still avoiding her breasts at the moment. Her own breathing was becoming erratic, nearly gasping every time his hands neared her chest. Her palms firmly roamed his own chest and sought out the sensitive peaks, and his chin jerked when she made contact.

He was sightless when she kissed his teeth, but his red eyes flared to life at the sensation of her soft, warm lips against his slightly open teeth. Without much thought, he nipped lightly at her lower lip and felt her heat exponentiate beneath his hands. Her mouth pressed and rubbed his own, nipping at him as well. Her hands came up from his chest to rest on each side of his jaw. That was when she used her own tongue on him.

A feeling not unlike electricity snaked through his skin when her tongue met his. He didn't know he wanted that so badly until it had happened. He nearly broke his control, just barely reigned himself in from yanking her hips down to meet his, as his cock so eagerly wanted.

As their tongues entwined and slid together, she made the most enticing noises in the back of her throat. Perhaps he should elicit sounds of approval as well? Releasing that stop-valve, his throaty purr rumbled up from his very core.

That seemed to release something in her, for she started pulling at his shirt, tapping at his chest and murmuring, "Off, off, off…"

He hoped she meant the shirt…

Between one gasp of air and the next, his shirt was no more, and she inhaled through their kiss, flattening her hands against his pectoral muscles.

She broke the kiss, presumably to breathe, for she had her eyes closed as she kneeled above him. She let her breathing calm for a moment, and he thought she was leaning in to kiss again, but her head canted back. Her naked chest met his and the contact was a live wire between them. His arms snatched around her waist tightly, pulling her closer as his loud gasp filled the air.

Her breathing rolled across his neck and her arms slid over his shoulders and arms, pressing more skin to skin as she went. He couldn't get enough of this sensation. The emotions of something so simple as touch were blowing his mind, and he wanted more.

Chise, his puppy, his robin, his soon-to-be wife, let her weight drop off her legs to carry… no, drag her body down his torso to seat against his lap.

At first, her weight was light, questioning. When she gauged his reaction, which was very, very favorable, she relaxed more, and arched her back to meet his body more fully.

Two, no, three pieces of cloth separated the rest of his body from hers. He trembled with restraint, wanting desperately to just wave them away and sink against her skin in incarnate bliss, but he needed to wait. She needed to ask.

Instead of speaking, she had another plan in mind, apparently. Her hot little mouth opened against his neck in a wet, loose kiss. Her lips and tongue started nipping and laving at his skin, working from his neck to his shoulders and chest.

He was stunned. Was this how it had felt, to her? Arcs of sensation zapped along his muscles. His hands clenched her bottom, running dangerously close to tearing the material left, pressing her hard against his erection.

That certainly did not help. His body was a jumbled mass of sensory overload and his hips bucked up hard against her, nearly unseating her light body.

That jostled her mouth off the path she was making to his left nipple, and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

With only a moment's hesitation, Chise dove down and latched her mouth to his breast. His guttural cry was rough and breathy, and this time, her bottoms did not survive. He bucked his hips again and again, transported by the feel of her tongue abrading his amazingly sensitive nipple, her naked bum in his hands, and the roll of her pelvis against his groin.

Her delicious little moans against his skin added another level of satisfaction. Was this heaven? Was he dying? Nothing could be better than this…

He was wrong.

Chise sat up and, with her kiss-swollen mouth, smiled wantonly at him, a dangerous glimmer in her emerald eyes. Her hands dragged down his abdomen to his belt buckle and tugged.

"Off… please."

At that moment, he didn't care if she only meant his belt, he magicked away the rest of his kit along with the shredded scrap of green that lay beneath the russet thatch of hair that crowned her most private self.

It was a brief eternity to catalog everything he was feeling, but the best word he could come up with was: Right.

She felt perfect against him. Her warmth, her softness, her wet womanhood against his very sensitive shaft… perfection. To top it all off, it was her.

It was Chise that made him feel this way, and nothing felt better than that.

This must be what love felt like.

(Don't worry, there will be more!)


	3. three

Elias shut his vision so he could feel her better. Every nuance of muscle and skin that twitched against his was savored. Every breath from her lips, every satiny slide of her fingers across his arms, every creak of the bed beneath them let him know that this was real. His mouth parted, huffing with exertion at holding completely and utterly still in order to absorb every aspect of this moment.

Tiny scales across his skin rippled in a tingling path, yearning to have more of Chise touch him. The blood in his veins pulsed heavily in a tantrum, eager to push his body closer to her.

He refrained.

Tonight was the first time he could remember ever being touched so intimately, so openly. The enormity of this… gift… washed over him in a river of feelings.

Yes, he could feel her body, but his body was feeling tumultuous emotions.

Heated, twisting, driving, thrusting emotions that he had no name for. He only knew it was because of Her. He shuddered beneath the slight weight of her, his hands trembling to hold her more tightly.

A softness, a warmth, something small and delicate pressed against his chest, and as soon as he felt the wet heat of her sweet lips against his jaw, he knew that delicate softness was her breast. His vision returned and all he could see was the shadowed ceiling above them.

Her mouth opened against his neck and she dragged one sharp tooth along the proud tendon there, ending at the depression between his neck and shoulder, where she nuzzled her face.

A high-pitched whine accompanied his shaking grip on her waist and he was astonished to realize the sound came from him. She wriggled back to sit upright in his lap and his fuzzy gaze sharpened to her face. She was biting her lip, looking rather shy for all of her advances, and he felt a pang of something deep in his gut in response. Without a reason he could fathom, his hips tipped up very slightly as he held her still between his massive hands.

To tell the truth, she seemed a bit smaller, so he wondered if he was losing grip on his refined, humanoid form. As his hips came to a stop at the top of his slide, the frenulum holding his foreskin in check pulled slightly tight, causing a very new feeling in his entire body.

It was slightly fearsome, the proximity to pain confusing, so he dropped down, coming to rest slightly below where he'd been before…

He inhaled deeply in surprise.

Heat. Hot, wet, slippery, pulsing heat greeted the extremely sensitive tip of his cock and he shook with the effort of holding still.

Somehow, over the roaring in his head, he heard Chise's breath hitch. Was this why copulation was so consuming to humans? This intoxicating wet warmth that begged to be thrust against… into… ?

His hips slowly tipped again, and the tight pull against his frenulum wasn't fearsome anymore. It was exciting, pulling a response from even lower, down in his sac. His balls felt fuller, more tight than normal, but… that wasn't…

He tipped again, and again, each movement pulling his breath in and out in tandem, like a tantric meditation. He finally looked at his partner and drank in the vision of desire he beheld.

She was blushing and panting, swallowing her breaths and licking her lips to keep them from drying out with near hyperventilation. Her hands braced on his arms and in one brilliant adjustment, moved her hips in concert, tipping down to his up, and up to his down. On the next stroke, the tip of his erection checked against her pubis, nearly pushing up into some kind of opening, bringing them both to a surprised halt.

What was he feeling? Was this how humans mated? Would he fit… there? What if she were too shallow--

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No. No, but… can we maybe… slow down?"

He stared at her in confusion. Did she mean slowing pace? He wasn't sure what her goal was, but he nodded and proceeded to drag his cock along her vulva at an agonisingly slow pull. Her voice was catching in her throat. He wasn't sure if she was enjoying this as much as he was, but with the last downward tilt, his penis slid gently into her magma-hot opening just a fraction of an inch. Blinding euphoria pulsed up his balls, tightening every muscle in his body to fight from thrusting up into her, and without his consent or understanding, he began ejaculating against her. Everything tightened to the point of pain and he sat up further to keep more control over himself.

Guttural grunts resounded from behind his teeth and he felt Chise hold him, caressing his boned face. He accepted the gesture until his body calmed, then ran his hands along her back in apology. What a mess he'd made.

"I'm sorry, Chise. I don't know why that happened."

Her hesitant voice was very quiet. "Didn't you like it?"

He pulled back to get a look at her. "Like what, leaking all over you? Convulsing like a beast with no control over his body?"

"But--"

"Did you like that?"

"Some of it, but--"

"I'm sorry, Chise. I don't know what--"

She pressed a hand against his teeth in a gesture to silence him. He stared at her in surprise and waited.

"You're supposed to lose control. It's a compliment." She blushed hard but kept his gaze.

His eyes flicked between hers in thought, widened, then looked down to the creamy mess that sat nestled in the contrast of skin between them. To some of his relief, his cock's hardness had abated. Well, until it twitched, showing a ridiculous amount of interest again. Something about seeing his ejaculate lingering on her skin was… pleasing.

He thought about what she said. He was supposed to lose control? Wasn't that dangerous? What if… what if he ended up hurting her?

That was important enough to ask aloud.

"Chise… what if I hurt you? I don't think me losing control is safe, especially for you."

The moonlight shone through the window and lit her serious face. "Elias, I'm not afraid of you."

He lifted his hand to caress her cheek, lacing his long fingers in her satiny hair. "Your lack of fear does not keep you from coming to harm, though."

Her hand slid gently against his, holding it in place. "Don't do that. You won't hurt me--"

"I have before--"

"Elias…" She broke off in an exasperated sigh. "How can I prove to you that you're not a monster?"

Their eyes met and he stared at her, unblinking, startled into stillness. He-- she-- His past--

His voice tumbled into the shadowed night, slightly gravelly with emotion. "What do you mean, I'm not a monster? Of course I--"

She shook her head 'no' and wrapped her hands around his wrist, caressing his dark arm in alternating strokes. He heard a sniffle and looked up to see her eyes glittering with unshed tears. Why?

Was she crying because of him? He tried to pull his hand away, but she locked onto his arm with both of hers. "No, please don't pull away now. It'll be weeks before we get back here again. Don't go."

A spark of panic lit a fuse inside him. How could she not see what he was? Did he have to prove it to her, as she was wanting to do to him? He felt a roiling, confusing emotion ripple through him, and before he thought through the motion, he had her pinned down to the bed, pinned beneath his hard, unyielding body.

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I am not some soft puppy? I have and will hurt people, Chise, there's no way around that. Even you."

"Then hurt me, Elias," came her challenging reply.

He was shocked. Her gaze was steady, her voice calm and commanding. He grasped her forearms in his palms and pressed her down into the mattress.

She repeated, "Hurt me."

He leaned in, determined to do something monstrous, something to scare her, something to reveal his true behavior to her…

He tried to pull on the eons of anger wrapped around his core, the fire within that fueled his most deadly transformation. Within an instant, his large form shifted larger, completely overpowering any hope she had of being able to wrest away from him… if she'd tried.

His cleaved voice rumbled between them as he asked, "DO I NOT SCARE YOU, NOW? IS THIS NOT MONSTROUS?"

She shook her head, no, again, and slid her gaze down his true form with a curious expression. Her legs were still embracing his hips, so when her legs moved, they slid along his leathery flanks. By all accounts, she seemed intrigued. He needed to intimidate her, needed to show her how awful he could be, before she broke him when she finally rejected him.

He shuddered at the thought of her inevitable rejection. Something warred inside him, saying that he needed to do whatever he could to keep her from said rejection, not push her towards it.

Perhaps if he ran his teeth along her delicate skin, that might scare her?

He slowly leaned down, bending his neck to reach her small form and lay the tip of his left incisor against her cheek. When she didn't flinch, he slid his tooth down that downy cheek, along her jugular that pulsed so sweetly, and across her clavicle to nip at the protruding bone there. He was too large to proceed further in this position, so he shifted his paws off the bed and bent down, back to the bed, and trapped both her hands in one large clawed hand. With the other, he palmed her belly, then pressed his muzzle into it. Again, she didn't even struggle against his grip.

Her mouth watering sweet scent filled his senses, and he opened his jaw, stretching the mandible wide enough to fit her entire torso in. A drip of drool slid off his fangs to the unmarked skin beneath him.

He stopped.

This felt familiar. He knew this struggle, had fought it before. He couldn't even pretend to eat her, it was so repulsive a thought to him.

She was right, he couldn't hurt her by choice. He still held that it could be done accidentally, but…

He closed his jaw and pressed the bridge of his nose to her soft tummy as his body shifted down to his normal form. His right hand slid along her legs in a soothing manner, but he wasn't sure if it was for her benefit or his own. He released his grip on her hands and was touched that she moved them immediately to comfort him by caressing his neck. She practically embodied comfort to him and he just… He couldn't bring himself to hurt her, willingly. Quite the opposite, in fact. Now that he seemed to have free reign to touch her in return, he couldn't get enough of the texture of her skin. It was so different from his own. Soft, smooth… As his hand slid up the inside of her nearest thigh, she gasped. He looked to her face in concern. Had he come across something that finally scared her? Her eyes met his, filled with anticipation, and the relief that sank down his spine set his mind to explore further.

Her breathing ramped up the closer his fingers got to the apex between her thighs. Once he reached that heated center, he brushed his middle finger very lightly against the folded skin. She gasped again, shuddered, arched her torso and widened her legs.

This was definitely not fear she displayed. He cupped her core in one hand and she groaned. Oh no, not fear. He was fascinated. Again, his middle finger was the adventurous one and followed the cleft of her backside upwards very slowly. That shallow indentation that revealed her crucible met his fingertip with an audible wetness. He pressed in, curious how far her body would let him intrude.

She groaned and panted as his digit went deeper, deeper, finally finding the end of her hot channel when his knuckles pressed against her pubis. His own breathing suffered for this discovery. She wasn't as shallow as he feared. She seemed deep enough for his cock and said appendage sprang to life at the thought of joining with her.

He started to withdraw, eager to climb on the bed again, when her hand snuck between them, travelled the length of her body, and pushed the heel of his palm away. Before he could pull completely away from her, she delved her fingers between the folds and started a small, firm, circular motion. As soon as she started, the walls of her channel clenched down against his finger.

It was his turn to gasp, feeling every bit of his finger encased in heated flesh. He watched in fascination as her fingers swirled just above his. The most titillating sound escaped her lips. Something soft and breathy, promising something more, if he'd only watch.

Suddenly, he didn't want his finger to feel her personal heat. He wanted to replace his very wet finger with his cock and feel every little tightening grip her body was going through in her search for something more. He pulled his hand away from her body and she cried out in frustration. He was going to comfort her, but the sweet, musky smell on his finger entranced him. Instinctively, he licked her juices from his digit.

The room darkened, then brightened. He wasn't sure if it was magic or just his sight blowing wide with a predator drive to taste more. Climbing up on the bed, he bent down enough to extend his tongue out to taste her again.

Ambrosia.

His precious Chise let her hand go slack as his wet muscle laved from her hole to her thatch. She seemed particularly vocal as he reached the little hooded button just below her hairline, so he focused on that for a moment. Her cries were pleasing, encouraging him to continue. He wanted this to never end, but reminding himself of his goal, he sat up, positioned his erection, and pressed forward.

He was nearly embarrassed that he cried out as well, but she was so… tight, perfect, hot, wet… They were made for this. He for her and she for him.

Her voice cried out differently and it jarred him enough to pause. Her teeth clenched and her eyes were squeezed shut. This usually indicated pain, did it not?

"Chise?" Please, he thought, don't make me leave you… this… it's too perfect.

Her facial expression of pain calmed and she smiled a watery smile at him. "It's okay. I think it's supposed to hurt, the first time."

The first time? His agile mind sped through anatomy books, tomes on human biology he'd memorized ages ago. Ah, of course. Her virginity. He felt slightly ashamed for not thinking of that sooner and wondered at how to repay her for his error. An idea occurred to him as he looked at his hands that encircled her waist and he wondered if he could do what she'd done earlier. Sliding his thumb down her soft belly, he ran across her coarse pubic hair, then came to the spot she'd focused on with her own fingers. Circles. She'd ran her fingers in firm circles. Across? Around? He pressed the pad of his dark thumb against her clitoris and tried several methods, all while watching her face intently for success.

Her expression softened, her lips parted, her breathing became erratic… there! What he sought finally happened and he was ecstatic! Her body clenched down on his cock, hugging his erection with a firm grip. It was hard not to thrust more fully into her, but he withheld as his thumb kept circling. Curious as to its effect, he licked his thumb for lubrication and pressed it back to her hooded pearl. She gasped and clenched again, arching her hips, which pulled a surprised cry from both of them.

They stared at each other as her hips tilted up to him again, pulling his cock more fully into her body. As her hips tilted down, they both marveled at the sensation of him pulling out part-way before she tilted up and he thrust back to meet her.

He was ashamed at the growling sound he made, but kept circling her nub, hoping it was making her enjoy this as much as he was. One more reciprocal tip and thrust, and he was fully seated within her. He was nearly insensate with bliss, his heart beating hard in his chest, his jaws parted, his lungs huffing for air as he held himself still enough to enjoy his joining with his beloved Chise.

His back arced up, his head pointed to the ceiling for a brief moment, before he curled completely down to bury his muzzle in the bed by her hair, overcome with the animalistic urge to pull back and thrust again.

More.

More.

MORE.

Her hands came up to hold him, and her legs tightened to his hips. He pressed his teeth against her shoulder and opened his mouth just enough to snag her muscle gently between them. A deeper, subconscious drive ripped through his body and he bit down harder, refraining from breaking her delicate skin as he moved his body faster within hers.

Her own little mouth came to his massive shoulder and did her own version of a bite. It drove him mad with lust. He thrust harder and harder until he felt a sudden implosion, kicks of culmination jolting from his spine, through his balls, out of his cock and into her beautiful, willing, amazing body. Somewhere in the room, a cacophony of sound rang in his hearing and he vaguely registered that it was them, in their orgasmic cries of completion.

He stilled above her, dizzy with exertion and emotion, high with hormones and endorphins. His tongue rolled out of his mouth to lick her shoulder where he'd accidentally broken her skin but not drawn blood. He slumped in a wobbly haze to the side, pulling her with him, holding her tightly to his body. To his delight, she merely nestled into place and sighed, content to lay with him after he'd lost control.

She'd said he was supposed to, didn't she?

The last thoughts that wafted through his head before sleep claimed him was that they were upside down on the bed…

And that Chise was still here.

He should tell her that he loved her...


End file.
